Denizen
by Tachibana
Summary: In the playground of the gods, you seek all that remains.
1. Playground of the Gods

_ "I have no idea how it happened, or why. My memories are blurry, but I do know that one second ago I was in an entirely different place. It doesn't take a genius to realize that sort of stuff, for a variety of reasons._

_ For one, it is raining in this place, but only now I feel my clothes getting wet. And, I am certain that I have never been in a rainforest before in my life._

_ There is also the fact that I am being viciously attacked by a man in dark, horned armor."_

**- N -**

With the moon gleaming in the sky and watching his every movement, the boy ran desperately through the forest, hiding behind trees and dirt to escape the dark arrows that aimed for his life; some grazed his arms and legs, but none hit him, and he so kept running, only to find that the whole place sat atop a large cliff, and what appeared to be zombies moaned and waited at the bottom.

**"Ah... okay,"** he said, turning right back. At least the dark knight could be reasoned with, right?

An arrow immediately pinned his shirt to a tree.

(It was a good start, he thought, because it might have pinned his stomach or his head instead!)

Next thing was a sword to the neck; the knight was fast and the boy barely had time to move his head. What he saw surprised and scared him.

It was a man, that much was clear, but he wasn't very tall. Yet, it was an imposing sight: the brown armor had a strange aura to it that seemed to somehow darken the surroundings, the huge horn on the forehead of the helmet seemed rather sharp now, and... even though it was this completely unknown guy with serious intention to kill, the boy felt drawn to his eyes: jade green, like gems on a socket, glistening against the darkness of the armor.

**"WHO ARE YOU?"** the knight asked, his voice echoing through the helmet. It was a powerful effect, but not enough to get the boy out of his trance.

Something about those eyes enthralled him. Normal people don't have eyes like those, he thought.

**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY TERRITORY? SPEAK."**

For a few seconds, the boy forgot how to answer, and forgot he was under threat. No longer could he feel the cold blade touching his skin, and no longer could he hear rain and thunder around him. His mind was going somewhere else, but the knight wouldn't have any of that...

**"DO NOT IGNORE ME," **he said, and his punch was so strong that it made the boy vomit. **"ANSWER."**

**"My name,"** he quickly started, clenching his stomach with his arms; the movement ripped his shirt, but at that point it was the least of his worries**. "My name is Timothy. I don't know how I got to this place, or actually where this place even is."**

**"THEN WHY DID YOU NOT STOP?"**

** "What? Why would I stop? You were attacking me!"**

** "THE FIRST ARROW WAS A WARNING."**

** "I am sorry for not being an expert in warring tactics, sir! I was scared, I still am."**

In response, the knight put his sword away.

**"YOU SHOULD HAVE REALIZED NONE OF THE ARROWS HIT YOU."**

** "I just thought it was hard to hit a moving target."**

** "NOT FOR ME. BUT IT NO LONGER MATTERS."**

** "Who are you, then? Why did you put your weapon away?"**

** "STRONG WORDS COMING FROM A CHILD. DO YOU WISH FOR MY BLADE TO GRAZE YOUR SKIN AGAIN?"**

** "No! No, sorry. I just don't understand how we are here talking while one second ago we were... you know."**

** "IT IS SIMPLE. I HAVE REALIZED YOU ARE NO ENEMY, SPY OR OTHERWISE. YOU ARE A NEW DENIZEN OF THIS WORLD."**

** "This world? You mean, this is another world?"**

** "YES, TIMOTHY. **

** WELCOME TO THE PLAYGROUND OF THE GODS.**

** TERRARIA."**


	2. Down The Stairs

**- I -**

**"Couldn't he have just, I don't know, asked?"**

** "Would you casually banter with trespassers? After countless goblin scouts, you really ought to know better."**

** "But I was n— owww!"**

** "Don't be such a kid."**

Timothy was squirming around in a table while a nurse tended his wounds. Were he a few years older, he would be delighted to ignore the terrible sting the ointment caused and focus on her most common superpower. The nurse was a tall, well-endowed lady, and that certainly factored into how well she performed her job in the eyes of her clients.

But alas, he was twelve and it hurt like hell.

**"I'm just saying, maybe shooting anything that moves isn't the right answer to everything!"**

** "We don't get many new faces here, Timmy. Not friendly faces. To survive, he has to act like that."**

** "I... noticed the, uh, zombies?"**

It was embarrassing to say the z-word like that, but it also made him feel funny, like someone in his world had gone through that situation as well. Maybe in a movie? His memory was still fuzzy, so he couldn't say for sure.

**"The undead, yes, but they are only one of many dangers in Terraria. I'm not the right person to talk about this stuff, though; look for the guide when you can."**

The nurse put one last stingy ointment on the huge bruise in his belly, and then covered it up in bandages.

**"And done! I will get my payment later."**

** "What! I have to pay? Won't that guy pay for me?"**

** "You should try and ask him!"**

** "Uuuuuuuugh..."**

** "Now, go get a shirt from the clothier a few levels down. He is the old man with the nice fashionable hat."**

** "I dunno, will I have to pay for that too?"**

** "Maybe not. Be nice to him!"**

Tim was hesitant to leave. Not so much because of the nurse; she was nice, yeah, but what he really was afraid of was to climb the tower right outside the room...

The knight had carried him back to that place in his arms like a baby, and it was surprising because Tim was expecting to find something like a huge floating castle chained to the ground (and to walk), but instead he got this two story wooden building.

**"Do you really live here?"**

** "YOU SOUND SURPRISED."**

** "I... yeah, I was expecting something bigger."**

** "I HOLD NO DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR. THIS FORTRESS WAS BUILT FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT."**

At the very least a moat would help, Tim thought, but before he could say it, the knight went on:

**"YOUR TONE WILL CHANGE SOON."**

Tim was again disappointed when he saw a standard dining room inside; a table, some chairs, a chandelier... the most exciting thing about it was the guy sleeping on the table, to whom the knight paid no attention whatsoever.

Instead, he moved a chair and opened a trapdoor right below it. The dining room they were in only had two dim candles, but opening the trapdoor immediately filled it with light. It wasn't just any old basement.

Tim looked inside.

**"I can't see the bottom at all. What is this place?"**

The knight didn't answer, and the nurse soon called Timothy from somewhere deep inside that place. It was a tower, the boy soon found out. No windows, a door between every few levels, and thin stairs infinitely leading downwards in spiral. An underground tower.

The worst part: no handrails. The stairs weren't connected either; the steps were wooden platforms hanging against the walls. Not safe in the least, most of the enemies would probably fall and die horrible deaths if they ever stumbled upon the place...

Timothy went all the way down to the third level to tend to his wounds, but he did not enjoy it. And now he had to do it again! Who knew so much drama could be generated from simply going down the stairs?

**"Do you need help?"**

Someone suddenly grabbed his hand, which made his heart race and his body jump; fortunately for him, this someone had a strong grip. Tim tried to look back, but he was too afraid of letting his other hand go off the wall.

And... suddenly the place became darker? He quickly looked at the candle next to him, and it was burning a dark blue instead of the bright orange of a second ago!

**"Are you seeing this?"** he asked the person holding his hand, and he suddenly remembered that he used to think he would be very brave in case he was transported to a strange new world. That was obviously not working out.

**"Yes, yes, no need to be afraid. It is a side effect to my presence. Does it make you feel nervous?"**

Timothy realized how kind that voice was. The hand was very skinny and frail, but the man seemed a good person.

**"No,"** he decided, **"but I am nervous about these stairs. I do not like heights, sir."**

** "Even if you liked heights, you would likely have a problem or two with this layout, I think!"**

** "Yes. Yes, I would. I think I understand what that guy meant when he said it was a practical standpoint, though."**

** "Most people here had a hard time adapting to this place, so you needn't feel a coward. The lord of this fortress lost his fear of heights a very long time ago, so he obviously built it to his own specifications."**

** "The lord... you mean the knight?"**

** "I do. Even though he looks a little evil, he houses and protects us all from the harms of Terraria."**

** "I think he looks harsh."**

** "You will get to know him with time. Now, I believe we have reached the place you wanted to come to?"**

** "Huh?"** Tim looked around. He saw a door right in front of him, and after the man gave him a small push, he opened it. Countless clothes and hats were inside.

**"This is where the clothier lives,"** said the man.

**"I, uh... did I tell you I wanted to see him?"**

** "You might have mumbled without realizing it. You were very afraid at first, you see."**

Tim was wide-eyed.

**"We walked all the way here,"** he thought aloud.

Now he could feel his fingers hurt a little from dragging them against the wall so forcefully. And the man was still holding his other hand, and it felt warm.

He slowly turned his back, fully expecting his new friend to be a ghost of some sort. To his surprise, it was an old man in a very fashionable red hat.


	3. In Which He Thinks

**- II -**

**"My first night in Terraria,"** Tim thought to himself, echoing the words of the clothier moments before. Maybe it was because he didn't remember it very well, but Tim didn't feel compelled to return to his own world; nowhere in his mind there was desire to find a mysterious gate leading home, and this bothered him.

Yes, it seemed obvious that this night was only the first of many. But should he really be okay with that?

To answer this question, he needed to focus and piece back his memories. Tim was given the bottommost room in the underground tower. Above him was the clothier, and then "many other rooms separating us from those who can fight and support". Even though he had trouble climbing, Tim was okay with a room at the bottom, because it meant he could open the door to somewhere with a ground.

It also meant it was eerily silent down there.

In Terraria, the clothier had explained, you don't sleep unless you really want to. Tim didn't believe it at first; he felt very tired and even the small blanket and empty room he was given seemed inviting at the time, so he just sat comfortably in a corner and closed his eyes. The first thing he remembered was his odd method to go to sleep: calm your thoughts until they are clear voices, and then listen until you no longer hear anything else.

Except, inside that small, silent room, the thoughts just kept coming; it was like talking to someone.

**"What is this?"** Tim said at one point, and it was no different than simply thinking. Maybe it was the silence...

**"No,"** his mind denied, **"I can hear water somewhere behind the walls, and my own breathing."**

** "It might be silent, but it isn't dead silent."**

** "Nothing we haven't experienced before."**

** "We? No... just me,"** he said, now a little scared; a man could go mad listening to his own thoughts like that. Tim would not fall to arguing with himself just now, and yet he couldn't stop thinking, so he decided to focus.

Which brings us to the original question: should he really be okay with that?

Timothy was his name, he knew. In his mind, he could (now quite literally) hear several different voices calling that name. And he knew he was twelve, because there was this party he was nervous about, and it was his party, his birthday party. However, he couldn't remember whether or not the party had happened, so he could be eleven still. It was a frustrating feeling. Tim could remember little things that made him nervous, like the party, or anxious, like this game he wanted, but he couldn't remember HOW was the party or WHAT was the game.

Likewise, he could remember things he absorbed from pop culture, like the idea of a zombie apocalypse, but could not name one book or movie or anything that had a zombie apocalypse in it.

**"Maybe this is what happened in Terraria: a zombie apocalypse!" **said one very silly part of his mind.

**"You know,"** ...yet he couldn't help but think, **"I did see a few hundreds of them outside."**

** "Yeah! And everyone said it was pretty much rare to see another human come by, right?"**

** "Not exactly. Nurse said it was rare to see new friendly faces; she said nothing about humans."**

Despite the admittedly stupid start to that train of thought, Tim was curious. What was Terraria? Was it really a fantasy world, or had something happened to Earth while no one was looking? One night out in the woods with a crazed knight was not enough to assess.

And just like that, he fell asleep.

Timothy had a strange dream that night, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember it. It was something that would bother him for the weeks to come, because just like his memories, the dream was something he couldn't describe beyond what he felt in it. More about that later.

When he woke up, Tim felt like he had slept for weeks. This wasn't because he felt super refreshed and ready to go, but because he really needed to pee.

Going up the stairs faster than a speeding bullet and completely brushing aside his fears, Tim quickly reached the hatch and opened it, climbing to the dining room that served as the entrance to the underground tower.

**"Geez, that trapdoor was pretty heavy,"** he said while looking around for a bathroom; all he found was the guy that was sleeping on the table earlier, now sitting on the ground next to a fallen chair**. "Huh, are you okay?"**

**"Ah, yeah," **he said, glaring at the boy with the most deadpan eyes he could muster, **"happens every day."**

** "Maybe you should buy some new chairs. Anyway, do you know where I can find a bathroom?"**

The man snickered. **"Nature is one big bathroom!"**

Just great. Not that peeing against a bush was an alien notion to Tim, but you don't see it in a whole lot of kid-is-transported-to-barbarian-world stories!

Outside was the same huge rainforest as in the previous night, so Tim just picked a tree.

As he was beginning to ponder just how great an invention indoor plumbing really was, the apparently drunk man stumbled into him again, now uncomfortably close.

**"So that is real pee,"** he said, with the subtlety of a mad grizzly bear. **"First time I see it in ages."**

Tim was understandably unsettled. **"What!"**

**"Look at this glistening stream of piss real hard because this is likely the last time you'll ever see one!"**

** "Are you insane?"**

** "C'mon, surely it isn't so hard to understand? You don't piss or crap in Terraria. Not much else to it."**

** "Mmkay," **he said under his breath, **"let me finish this so we can talk... and don't call me Shirley."**

Shirley quickly pushed the man away to a less creepy position and finished his business, begrudgingly paying attention to it. Now with what might be a permanently empty bladder, he turned to face the jerk.

There wasn't anything special about the guy. Average height, brown spiked hair, really punchable face. No armor or special clothes whatsoever, though he did wear a scarf.

What was it with jerks and scarves?

**"Who are you?"** Tim asked.

**"They say there is a person who will help you survive in this world..."** the guy started.

**"So, you're the guide."**

The guy sighed, likely disappointed that he couldn't finish his introduction, but confirmed with his head.

**"My name is Timothy. I got here yesterday."**

** "I know. I was in the room when you arrived."**

** "Weren't you sleeping, though?"**

** "No. Like most basic body functions, sleeping is not necessary in Terraria."**

** "I was told it wasn't, but... I did sleep tonight."**

** "And you did pee a second ago, right? Consider both situations remnants. Won't happen again; though, you can still sleep if you want, it will just be different."**

** "You mean, I won't dream, or some other side effect?"**

** "Nothing like that,"** the guide said, but his eyebrows were raised. **"It just won't make a difference."**

Tim bit his thumb as he started thinking. So, your body doesn't need anything after you get into Terraria?

**"Not even eating?"** he said suddenly.

**"Complicated question. Short answer: you can eat."**

** "What is the long answer?"**

** "I'll tell you once you live here for a while."**

Why all the mystery?

Tim felt he was making the right questions, but he was missing an important one. Even though it was on the top of his head, he couldn't remember it, so instead he asked:

**"How do you know this stuff? I mean, sure, you are the guide, you know stuff, but how did you learn it?"**

And this was the second best question.

The guide frowned.

**"Heh... sorry, champ, but I can't tell you that."**

Tim decided to leave it at that, and to return to his room to gather his thoughts. After absentmindedly going down the first set of stairs, however, he noticed something new: a floor between each level.

**"I WAS TOLD YOU FEARED THESE STAIRS,"** said the knight, coming from further down the tower. Tim took a step back.

**"I... well, they aren't very safe,"** he said, feeling his face warming up; something about the blunt way the knight worded it, and his quick solution, made him feel very embarrassed. **"How did you build this so fast? I was here not twenty minutes ago, and didn't even see you."**

** "THERE ARE GOOD THINGS TO TERRARIA, TIMOTHY.**

** REFLECT ON THEM."**

Who was this mysterious knight? Tim barely had time to take a better look at him, because the guy suddenly made a leap for the hatch; his body suddenly flipped at about halfway the distance, and kept going up. The trapdoor opened as if pushed by his weight, and Tim heard the familiar sound of a falling chair and jerk combo.

It was amazing. Maybe this was one of the good things to Terraria he had just mentioned?

**"USE THIS DAY TO REST AND TO MEET THOSE WHO LIVE IN MY TOWER,"** the knight said, looking at the boy through the open hatch. **"TOMORROW, I WILL SHOW YOU TERRARIA."**


End file.
